166 



THE OOLOGIST 



West Virginia where the Chat was 

 very common and the Golden wing 

 quite so, I was thoroughly familiar 

 with their songs and habits and the 

 chances of overlooking them here at 

 home were slim. 



Therefore this past season on May 

 28th while in a little hollow back in 

 the mountains in a piece of new slash- 

 ing I was surprised to hear the well 

 known calls of the Chat. I followed 

 up and soon saw the author perched 

 quite high on a stub. After listening 

 and watching some time I moved on 

 but before getting out of the hollow 

 I was again pleasantly surprised. This 

 time it was the well known "zee," 

 "zee," "zee," of the Goldenwing. Af- 

 ter finding and watching the singer 

 a while I left and did not again get 

 up to the little ravine until June 8th. 

 I failed to see or hear anything of 

 the Golden wings, but the Chats were 

 still there and in about the same 

 place. After watching awhile I start- 

 ed in and in less than half an hour 

 I had found the nest containing four 

 fresh eggs. 



I was well pleased with the morn- 

 ing's work as it furnished me with a 

 new breeding record. 



R. B. Simpson. 



A Short Acquaintance With the 

 Desert Horned Larl<. 



During the month of July in 1900 it 

 was my good fortune to spend a 

 month oa the Great Plains in south- 

 western Kansas. The breeding sea- 

 son of nearly all the birds was past 

 but nevertheless, to one of the young- 

 er striV'ing oologists of the east, the 

 region was one of great interest, or- 

 nithologically speaking. Scattered 

 over the Prairies in all directions 

 were numerous Prairie Dog colonies, 

 each with its accomijaniment of quaint 

 little Burrowing Owls. Occasionally 

 majestic Mississippi Kites soared 



overhead but these I well knew, bred 

 to the south in Friend Stevens terir- 

 tory. 



Now and then the grotesque Long 

 Billed Curlew was seen on these arid 

 plains; — all of these had their attrac- 

 tions but somehow the bird that forc- 

 ed itself most vividly into my mind's 

 eye during that short trip was our 

 cheerful little friend the Horned Lark, 

 of the Desert variety as I afterward 

 learned. 



Scarcely had I stepped off the train 

 at Plains, Kansas, ere the Larks came 

 into view. If one don't look them up, 

 they take the initiative themselves; 

 they won't be overlooked. 



In my rambles over the Prairie I 

 found them in all situations, every- 

 where the same cheery carefree bird. 

 In the sage brush in the Buffalo 

 Grass as well as in the Cactus bar- 

 rens, their notes were always heard. 



By July most of the birds seemed 

 to have finished their nesting cares, 

 though occasional pairs were still 

 nesting. A number of birds which I 

 examined must have been hatched in 

 April at the latest, judging from their 

 perfect plumage. 



The song of the male is essentially 

 that of the Prairie Horned Lark of 

 the eastern and central states or the 

 more rarely heard song of the typi- 

 cal Horned Lark. The males soar 

 high up, constantly singing and then 

 again, they will go through the whole 

 performance on the ground. 



I was especially interested in their 

 nesting habits and during the time 

 I was in their midst, three occupied 

 nests. One of which yielded me a per- 

 perfect set of eggs. 



The first nest found was on July 2d 

 and on this date it held two eggs. On 

 July 3d, one more was added and the 

 set of three was collected on the 4th. 

 The female would run off the nest as 

 soon as I was within fifty yards of it 



